IAFC NEWS ALERT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: IAFC Government Relations Department
703/273-0911
FIRE Act Reauthorized
Congress Makes Significant Changes to Successful Program
Fairfax, Va., October 11, 2004…This weekend, Congress reauthorized the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (FIRE Act) for fiscal years 2005-2009. The bill was passed as part of the 2005 defense reauthorization bill.
The FIRE Act reauthorization makes several substantial changes to the program, while keeping its overall structure largely intact. Most of these changes were based on recommendations submitted to Congress by the major fire service organizations, including the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). However, Congress did make one very significant change over the strong objections of the IAFC. The primary changes to the bill are:
Reduced Local Match
The reauthorization reduces the community match from 30 percent to 20 percent for jurisdictions larger than 50,000 people. For jurisdictions between 20,000 and 50,000 people, the match is reduced to 10 percent. Finally, in jurisdictions smaller than 20,000 people, it is reduced to five percent.
Increased Maximum Award Amount
The reauthorization significantly increases the maximum amount that can be awarded to a single department. Prior to reauthorization, the grant amount was capped at $750,000. This is increased to $1 million for jurisdictions smaller than 500,000 people. It is further increased to $1.75 million for jurisdictions between 500,000 and 1 million people. Finally, it is increased to $2.75 million for those large urban areas with more than 1 million people. This provision is limited by an overall cap that states that no single award can be in excess of one-half of one percent of the total appropriation. (For example, if the annual appropriation were reduced to $500 million one year, no single grant could exceed $2.5 million for that year.)
Addition of Funding for Fire Fighter Research and Development
Currently, no less than five percent of funding is set aside for non-competitive grants to fund fire prevention programs. Eligibility for these funds is increased to include organizations that are conducting research to improve fire fighter health and life safety. The motivation for this change is the need to foster research to develop new technologies which would provide greater protection for fire fighters.
Ensures Fire Service Participation in Grant Criteria Development and Peer Review
The reauthorization requires the involvement of national fire service groups in both key aspects of administering the program. Since the program’s inception, the federal agencies that have administered the program have worked closely with the national fire service organizations to ensure that grants are awarded efficiently and fairly. This close involvement of the fire service is one of the principal reasons for the FIRE Act’s sustained success. The reauthorization ensures that this practice continues by requiring fire service participation in the annual meetings that result in the development of criteria for administration of the program and the peer review process for granting awards.
United States Fire Administration Administers the FIRE Act
The reauthorization program provides responsibility for administering the program to the Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate (formerly FEMA) acting through the administrator of the United States Fire Administration (USFA). This decision reflects Congress’ continued concern over the Bush administration’s decision to house the program within the Office for State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (SLGCP). Because this office has a primary focus on terrorism response, Congress decided to move the program back to the USFA in order to protect the “all-hazards” focus of the FIRE Act. The IAFC strongly supports this decision. It is important to recognize, however, that the annual appropriation for the FIRE Act places responsibility for administering the program in SLGCP. The impact of these contradictory congressional positions is unclear at this time. The IAFC will continue to advocate for keeping the FIRE Act under the effective and efficient administration of the USFA.
Expand Eligibility to Include “Non-affiliated” EMS Organizations
Congress made one significant change to the FIRE Act over the strong objections of the IAFC; they expanded eligibility for grants under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program to “public or private nonprofit emergency medical services organization[s].” The IAFC is concerned that this expansion is the first step toward a dramatic expansion of eligible organizations that will ultimately erode the focus and success of the FIRE Act. In fact, this expansion has already occurred. As initially introduced in both the House and the Senate, the bill would have only extended eligibility to volunteer EMS organizations. However, during the legislative process, eligibility was extended beyond volunteer organizations to include government third-service providers.
Congress did, however, include several provisions to carefully restrict the impact of this expansion. First, they included a ceiling of two percent on the total amount of funding that can go to these EMS organizations. Additionally, EMS organizations located in areas where fire departments already provide EMS are not eligible for grants. The IAFC will carefully monitor the impact of this potentially threatening change.
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